It was a scene that probably would have made Tom Landry furious. That is, if Landry, the iconic former Dallas Cowboys coach, would have dared to show emotion.

There was Broncos coach Josh McDaniels, charging through a sea of players and coaches to the north end zone at Invesco Field, emphatically pointing up to his family and unleashing a fist pump to rival all fist pumps.

At the time, McDaniels’ Broncos had just defeated the New England Patriots, his previous employer for eight years, and McDaniels reacted like, well, a fan.

While fans in the stands, at home in their living rooms or gathered in bars were likely exchanging high-fives, McDaniels was leaping into the arms of a defensive lineman.

“I think when you put so much time and effort into something, when you lose, you probably want to cry, and when you win, you want to jump for joy, and he doesn’t hold back,” Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. “I like that emotion, I like him to express himself like that.”

In the first two months of his first season as an NFL head coach, McDaniels has developed a reputation as the anti-Landry, or anti-Belichick, his mentor in New England. He proudly celebrates victories and doesn’t shy away from emotional outbursts when things aren’t going so smoothly, chewing out players and coaches on the sideline.

McDaniels would likely agree with the analytical Landry on in-game coaching philosophies. After all, McDaniels did major in math at John Carroll University.

But McDaniels has eschewed the theory that coaches must be perceived as stoic game-planners, too concerned with the intricacies of the game to acknowledge that football is supposed to be fun.

“I just think somewhere down the line people think you need to try to keep that under wraps, and not let it out,” McDaniels said. “We spend too much time trying to win, then all of a sudden you win, and you bottle it up? When do you get to enjoy it? At the end of the season? No.”

The sincerity of his expressive display after the New England game may have helped endear McDaniels to a fan base previously hesitant to embrace him.

But the players have had months to get used to McDaniels’ intense, emotional and supremely optimistic coaching style since their new boss arrived at Dove Valley in January to replace Mike Shana- han.

“Our first team meeting that we had, I saw it was going to be totally different, and knew that for those guys who were here before, that it would be totally different from what they were used to,” tight end Daniel Graham said. “McDaniels is a player’s coach, but he demands a lot from all his players. It helps when you have a coach like that to bring it out from all the guys. It’s not miserable to come into work, and that’s a big thing. He has a positive attitude, and we do too.”

With the Broncos off to a 6-0 start, it’s clear players have responded to McDaniels’ style. That doesn’t mean his approach is what’s always best for each team. Football coaches have won in many different ways, and styles.

“I believe there is no one particular personality that can win,” said sports psychologist John F. Murray of Palm Beach, Fla., who specializes in the mental aspects of football. “You have many different ways to coach. The key is for the coach to be consistent with his coaching style, and that will be both a function of personality, and of how you were taught.”

For McDaniels, emotion has always been part of the game, from when he was a player through the start of his coaching career, when he discovered that game days were the result — and the reward — of a week’s worth of work. As an NFL head coach, that’s often nearly 100 hours spent at the office, in meetings, in the film room and on the practice field.

McDaniels said he isn’t sure how much of his energy and exuberance are a result of his youth. At 33, he’s the second- youngest coach in the NFL. Will he still be fist pumping and pouncing on linemen when he’s 53, or 63? Probably, as long as he’s still having fun.

“I think the word we’re talking about is passion. I am passionate about trying to get our team ready to go out and win, I’m passionate about winning,” McDaniels said. “They understand how much work and time we put in, and then to not let it out and enjoy what you just did, I think you’re wasting an opportunity. I mean, how many times are you going to get it?”

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